Online Local Directories: Q&A

Online directories are a central figure in your small business growth. They help to develop your business reputation, increase your online visibility, and place you in local search results. There are a number of websites and mobile apps available today that provide business listings based on industry, location, niche, and more.

What is an online local directory?

An online local directory is a website that lists businesses, typically within categories. These directories allow businesses to list their company, get their name in front of the customers, and give customers the info they need to contact the business. It also narrows the World Wide Web down to local communities and places and makes local businesses more easily accessible to the customers that use them.

The details provided in an online listing will vary from business to business and from directory to directory. Typical information includes:

• The business name
• Address
• Telephone numbers
• Product or service sold
• Number of employees
• The area the business services
• Professional associations the business belongs to
• Reviews, comments, and feedback

Are online local directories the same as search engines?

Online local directories often have a search function within them. This makes it easier for users to quickly find the business they’re looking for, without having to search through thousands of listings. However, this does not make these directories search engines.

Search engines can find just about any information you need and provide in-depth articles, pictures, and blog posts about very specific topics. Search engines list the actual URLs to websites and will take you directly to them. Online local directories will provide users with many different results, but each of those results will only be a business listing including very basic information.

Search engines will also pick up on the various web pages on a website, giving each a different page ranking dependent on things such as keywords and traffic numbers. Online local directories, conversely, will provide only one URL, and it’s typically only to the home page of the website.

Why is it important that my business is listed in an online local directory?

Approximately 8 out of 10 shoppers will use an online directory to guide them in the direction of where to go for whatever product or service they are looking for. Of that group, 8 out of 10 shoppers who used a directory to find what they needed will end up buying something now or in the future from the business they found within the directory.

This is why it’s so important to have your business listed in an online directory. If customers are already using online directories, they already have a need for your business or service. And if your business isn’t listed in an online directory, the chances are good that the competition will be, and customers will turn to them instead of you.

This is why it’s so important to be listed in online local directories – so customers can find you!

Can small businesses profit from using online local directories?

When thinking about using online local directories, many small businesses make the mistake of thinking it only works for huge companies. Companies like McDonald’s that have several locations, sometimes within mere kilometers of each other. However, it’s really small businesses that will benefit the most from online directories. Remember that these directories focus on local businesses.

The intent is that it will bring customers to actual plumbing businesses that are located near them, meaning that small businesses have the most to profit from being listed. And if your business isn’t listed, there’s a good chance that your competitors are and that customers will go to them instead of you.

How can online directory listings boost traffic to my website?

Whenever your business, company, or company URL is listed on a website, it helps boost your page ranking. And when that information is listed on an authoritative and established page such as Google My Business or Yellow Pages, Google uses that as an indicator that your website is also established and authoritative.

When you have your website URL listed on several of these authoritative websites, it has several different “votes” in the eyes of Google and the search engines. The more you have, the higher your website URL will appear within the search engine results.

Have enough and your website will even start to appear on the first page of search engine results, sending more and more traffic to your website.

Welcome to Classified 24, which is a free online business directory, where you can have your local business listed on the net. Classified 24 is ideal for businesses to be more easily accessible to individuals searching for your products and/or services. We will do the online directory listings for your business and get it noticed by search engines as well as your potential clients.